The invention relates generally to the field of electric drives. More particularly, the invention relates to techniques for configuring electric drives in a multi-axis drive system.
Various power systems include power conversion systems such as electric drives and motors which are employed to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. An electric drive includes a device or group of devices which controls the torque, speed, position, and/or performance of an electric motor. The drive may be connected to a power source such as a battery, a power supply, or an AC generator. The electric drive controls the electric power from the power source to the motor, which converts the electrical power into mechanical power. The electric drive may also be connected to control circuitry configured to control the power conversion. For example, the control circuitry may control the current, voltage, and/or switching frequency of transistors in the drive.
Electric drives may be used for a wide range of industrial applications. For example, different types of electric drives may drive power to various types of motors, such as AC induction motors, servomotors, DC motors, etc. which perform different motion, such as rotary or linear motion under torque, velocity or position control, etc. The configuration of electric drives for such different mechanical functions may also vary greatly. As such, different types of electric drive configurations may be used depending on the particular application or function of the industrial drive system. For example, basic electric drive configurations include single axis and multi-axis configurations in regenerative bus supply, regenerative braking configurations, etc.
Typically, modularity is an important feature in power conversion systems. Modularity may refer to the adaptability of power conversion components for various industrial drive system applications. For example, drive modularity enables a drive module to be adaptable for various systems and flexible for system expansion. However, typical electric drives are relatively inflexible when converting between different configurations of drive systems. For example, electric drive modules may be further integrated for increased flexibility when switching between different configurations of drive systems such as multi-axis or regenerative braking configurations.